Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time

by James C. VanderKam

Overview

1997 was the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls explores the evidence about calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Jewish texts. James C. VanderKam examines the pertinent texts, their sources and the different uses to which people put calendrical information in the Christian world.
Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls provides a valuable addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls Series and contributes to the elucidation of the scroll texts themselves and their relation to other Biblical texts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415165143
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/15/1998
Series:	The Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Pages:	148
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Table of Contents. Part I:Introduction to Biblical and Post-biblical Calendars. Chapter 1: The Hebrew Bible. A. Some important passages. B. The moon and the sun. C. Three systems for designating months. D. The festivals. E. The Gezer Calendar. F. Some debated issues.Chapter 2: Sources later than the Hebrew Bible. A. Elephantine papyri. B. The Samaria papryi. C. 1Enoch 72-82. D. Sirach E.The Book of Jubilees.Part II. Chapter 1: The first calendrical hints. A. Introduction. B. Calendrical information in the first scrolls and the Damascus Document.Chapter 2: A history of scholarship on the Qumran calendars. A. S. Talman. B. D.Barthelemy. C. A.Jaubert D. J.T.Milik. E. S.Talmon. F. J.Sanders. G. Y.Yadin.Chapter 3: The Calendrical texts. A. Introduction. B. The texts. C. A SundialChapter 4: Measuring and symbolizing longer units of time. A. Evidence from the Hebrew Bible. B. The scrolls.Chapter 4: Conclusion. A. Summary statements. B. A hypothetical sketch of the role of the calendar in Qumran origins. Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

'Professor VanderKam has produced a very valuable handbook on the problems of alendric documents form Qumran considered in thier broader biblical and post-biblical Jewish context' - Geza Vermes, Journal and Jewish Studies

'This outstanding volume is the most useful succinct treatment of the subject of calendar in early Judaism available.' - Koninklijke Brill NV

From the Publisher

Explores evidence about different uses of time-measurement in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew Bible, and other ancient Jewish texts. Examines texts, their sources, and the different uses to which people put calendrical information in the world of Judaism and Christianity. Argues that the scrolls indicate that a dispute about the correct calendar for dating festivals was one of the principal reasons for the scrolls' author's separation from the rest of Jewish society. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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